Getting people back into stores
Retailers are faced with less-than-positive sales figures. Part of the problem, their research disclosed, is consumers are dissatisfied with in-store experience compared to the relative is to buy products online. As the Internet becomes the accepted choice for purchasing consumer goods, dissatisfaction is expected to worsen. So what must the brick and mortar operations due to get us coming through their door, again?
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Long before high tech took over our lives and when self-service retailing was the exception rather than the rule, the shopping experience could be a pleasant event. I’m talking about the post-WWII days that stretched on for a couple of decades. Department stores and boutique shops employed people who actually knew their job was to help the customer find something that was right for them. In fact, we could trust their judgment as to whether the fit or color of a piece of clothing, as an example, was right for us.
These “retail clerks,” as they were called back then, also provided us with information designed to aid in the buying decision. They tended to specialize in a particular area such as clothing, furniture, appliances, hardware, baby apparel and the like. They could demonstrate products, tell us about how something was made or compare the strengths and weaknesses of various brands.
As retailers tried to cut costs they moved away from service to self-service claiming that we consumers could select the products we wanted and save money in the process. The manufacturer’s advertising became the main source of product information. This less-service concept has been stretched to the point where we can walk into a department store and spent a long time searching for someone to help us, only to be disappointed because they know less than we do about a particular product.
In recent years the Internet has in some ways taken on the role of the sales clerk of days gone by. And, since many of us get the information we need online, we often decide to purchase it online too. Now some retailers are using this technology to provide product information to people looking for help when they make a trip to the store.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, there “is a device [being tested] that transforms the front window of a store into a giant touch screen. Instead of looking at a static mannequin, consumers can interact with the screen to select outfits for an avatar. Meanwhile, kiosks allow a customer to chat with a virtual sales associate who can provide advice on such topics as how to install a new flat-screen television.
Another device is a mirror that enables a shopper to scan a dress and then project that clothing onto her body before going to the dressing room. She can also tap the mirror to view different colors, find matching shoes and send images to her Facebook profile.”
Very futuristic, but why not invest in hiring and training real people to take on the role of the sales clerk of old and provide human help? This might be the incentive we need to go back into stores. And, it certainly would help with the nation’s unemployment problem.
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